Franchise Council helps business face new challenges

Mary Aldred | CEO Fran C hise Coun C il o F australia

About the Author

Mary Aldred commenced as the Chief Executive Officer of the Franchise Council of Australia in April 2018. Mary brings to the role extensive experience across government, industry and the corporate sectors as well as a very strong focus on membership engagement, stakeholder collaboration and effective advocacy.

The Franchise Council of Australia (FCA) is the nation’s peak body for franchising, representing franchisees, franchisors and service providers to the sector. The FCA provides a strong voice for franchising and is focused on raising the awareness of the benefits of franchising and educating governments, regulators and key decision makers, as well as the broader community, on the important economic and social contribution that franchising makes within Australia. Membership of the FCA is voluntary, and open to any organisation or individual involved in the franchise sector, including franchisors, franchisees, and suppliers to the sector. The FCA strives to add value to the businesses of its members by advocating on their behalf, and by providing education, information and networking services and opportunities that support a prosperous and growing franchise sector.

As per IBISWorld Research Report July 2022, franchising in Australia contributes $172bn annually to the national economy through 94,524 individual business outlets employing 565,251 Australians.

Continuing staff shortages and escalating interest rates and inflationary pressures in the wake of the COVID pandemic caused major concern for Australian small businesses in 2022, according to FCA research.

The COVID pandemic reshaped the business landscape and anecdotal evidence is that franchising emerged from the impacts faster than most of the small-medium business sector.

However, the FCA’s 2022 series of Business “Pulse Check” surveys highlighted that although pandemic trading restrictions had gone, significant new obstacles were hindering Australian business recovery.

The 2022 Franchise surveys, which included responses from diverse brands with thousands of business outlets across the nation said finding suitable employees for Franchisees and staff for support offices was a significant challenge.

For the first time since the surveys began in March 2020, rising interest rates and inflationary pressures were also identified as a growing challenge, followed by supply chain issues and Franchisee recruitment were also in the top key concerns and challenges.

There has never been a greater need for the Franchise Council of Australia in its support and assistance to our members, underpinning franchising as the preferred model for small business success.

the role of the FCA

The Franchise Council of Australia (FCA) is the peak body for the $172 billion franchise segment in Australia and covers a range of organisations and individuals, including franchisors, franchisees, professional advisers and suppliers.

The FCA is committed to building a strong franchising culture that upholds standards and looks to meeting compliance obligations as a minimum standard – always striving for best practice in the franchise relationship and business conduct.

The FCA’s support for members and broader advocacy in the COVID pandemic has earned respect across business and politics, and we are seen to have taken a strong stand to support Australian small businesses.

The FCA continues to advocate strongly for franchising as the best model for small business, by promoting the needs and concerns of all small businesses, whether franchisors or franchisees, and by highlighting franchise network support for franchisees during COVID and recovery in 2022.

In one of the most difficult economic environments ever experienced by Australian business, both franchisors and franchisees have had to demonstrate resilience, adaptability and determination to push their businesses through the challenges.

Looking ahead

Moving forward, the will FCA continue to focus on two key priorities: • advocating and representing the interests of members to all levels of government on the issues, concerns and needs of our members and the small business sector

• and through the media, enhancing the standing and reputation of franchising as the preferred model for small-medium business success, including highlighting the resilience of franchise systems in a tough economic environment.

The FCA is committed to ongoing engagement with government and policymakers to ensure that franchising remains the most successful model of small business ownership in Australia. Towards achieving that, the FCA will maintain focus on public advocacy and business support on the issues that are important to our members.

The FCA continues to provide a dedicated program of education and information through a series of topical webinars focussed on industrial relations, wellbeing, business and legal issues, featuring industry experts, franchisors and politicians who have all generously shared their time and knowledge to educate and inform members.

After many months of restrictions on events, we held our first National Franchise Convention for three years in Melbourne in April 2022 and another standout event in 2023 will be an even bigger NFC program.

This really will be an unmissable opportunity to gather to share ideas, experiences and knowledge of strategies for consolidation, revitalisation, innovation and growth in a vastly changed business environment.

The FCA will also build on its successful 2021-22 webinar program to again provide the opportunity for members to meet at face-to-face to events for networking and information exchange, as well as continuing to offer online events.

We know that whether they are located in metropolitan or regional Australia, businesses that are part of a franchise network continue to outperform many other parts of the small-medium business sector.

The FCA is optimistic that the innovation and resilience demonstrated by franchised businesses in recent years will ensure that they will continue to lead national recovery in 2023.